All 3 Republican candidates for Wisconsin governor would eliminate concealed firearm permits that require training
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MADISON - Wisconsin residents would be able to carry concealed firearms without obtaining a state license that requires training under legislation the three top Republican candidates for governor promise to sign if elected.
Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Pewaukee management consultant Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Tim Ramthun said in recent weeks they would sign legislation that would eliminate permit requirements for firearm owners who want to carry guns in a concealed fashion, a policy known to supporters as constitutional carry.
Aides to Kleefisch and Nicholson also said they support keeping in place a state law that requires licenses to carry concealed firearms in school zones.
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The candidates' support comes as most Wisconsinites — 76% — oppose the idea of removing concealed carry permits, according to 2021 polling by the Marquette University Law School, and goes further than desired by Republican leaders of the state Legislature.
Current law requires Wisconsin residents to undergo training in order to apply for a state permit to carry firearms in a concealed manner.
Bills that would remove state requirements to obtain state licenses have been proposed in recent years by Republican lawmakers but blocked from advancing by legislative leaders, and they were not supported by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and current Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
"We're a sporting family. We're a hook-and-bullet, sporting heritage group of people and I think it's important to acknowledge our Second Amendment rights. And this is one more way to do it," Kleefisch said about her support for the policy.
"I'm a Second Amendment guy — absolutely," Ramthun said.
Nicholson said removing requirements for permits and training for firearm owners is needed for more than hunting-related reasons.
"It is crystallized to everybody that the police won't always be in a position to protect your life and, therefore, the people of Wisconsin, while the left attacks the Second Amendment and defunds police, should have again a full Second Amendment right," Nicholson said.
Evers opposes the idea, saying "giving anyone the ability to carry a loaded and concealed weapon in public without any kind of safety training or permitting process will not improve public safety in our state."
Kleefisch said the measure would be an improvement to the state's current set of laws related to firearms, including measures signed into law by Walker in 2011 that allowed residents to carry concealed firearms with a permit, and provided legal protections to homeowners who shoot intruders — a policy sometimes referred to as 'castle doctrine.'
"I think we took steps toward it with concealed carry, and we took steps toward it with castle doctrine. But this is going all the way there. And right now the only people who have constitutional carry are the bad guys," she said.
Aides to Kleefisch and Nicholson said they would sign recently introduced legislation that has stalled in the Legislature that gives firearm owners the option to obtain a state-issued license, and keeps in place a state law that allows a license holder to carry a firearm in a school zone anywhere but on school grounds.
Ramthun did not answer whether he wanted exceptions to the policy, like barring firearms on school grounds.
Evers seeks stricter gun regulations
Evers, who declined to be interviewed for this story, said eliminating a process that requires firearms training won't improve safety in the state.
"Every Wisconsinite deserves to live in a safe community, free of gun violence. That’s why I’ve invested more than $100 million into violence prevention programs and local law enforcement agencies to give communities the tools they need to keep people safe," Evers said in a statement, referring to distributions of federal funds he has made over the last two years to public safety efforts.
"Wisconsinites want lawmakers to find common-sense solutions that will both respect and uphold rights for responsible gun owners, while keeping our communities safe. Permitless concealed carry could put our kids and communities in danger and make Wisconsin less safe,” he said.
Evers has called for stricter firearm regulations, including expanding background checks to all firearm sales and transfers — which is supported by the vast majority of Wisconsinites, according to 2019 polling by the Marquette University Law School. Legislative leaders have turned down his calls to take up legislation that would accomplish those goals.
Kleefisch, Nicholson and Ramthun said they do not agree with expanding background checks.
"I like the status quo," Nicholson said.
Kleefisch said she believes expanding background checks "denies Wisconsin tradition."
"In deer camps across the state, you have people who are passing on a traditional rifle down to the next generation," she said. "I don't think government needs to necessarily nose its way into things like that."
Ramthun said he believed universal background checks would be unenforceable without a "national firearm registry."
"Without knowing exactly who has the hundreds of millions of privately owned firearms, it is impossible to control the flow of private sales," he said. Ramthun said expanding background checks invades firearm owners' privacy and would amount to a constitutional overreach.
Kleefisch's position on the proposal is a departure from Walker, whom she served as lieutenant governor. Walker refused to endorse the idea when dozens of Republican lawmakers proposed it in 2017.
At the time, Walker said he thought the current concealed carry law — which requires permits and training — "is a good law."
“The people that talk to me about it say they like where it’s at," Walker said at the time. "Obviously, we’re one of the last states to have concealed carry and people said the world was going to come to an end who were the critics. It hasn’t. We’re one of the larger number of permits in the country and it works well that way."
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Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 3 Wisconsin governor candidates want to end concealed carry permits
